Cards' Bookman Off to Slow Start

Published 4:00 am, Friday, October 4, 1996

Stanford running Anthony Bookman shakes his head and forces a chuckle when he reflects on his first three games of 1996.

"Oh man," he said, "this is definitely one of the toughest positions I've been in all of athletics."

To say the least, things have not gone as Bookman expected, as the Cardinal (1-2) head into their Pac- 10 opener tomorrow at No. 18 Washington (2-1). An instant star when he became a starter as a freshman, Bookman was a second- team all-Pac-10 pick as a sophomore last season when he rushed for 872 yards. Many projected him to be a first-team all-conference player this season, and he and Mike Mitchell were part of what many considered the best running- back corp in the conference, and one of the best in the country.

Through three games, Bookman has just 85 yards rushing. Total. Through three games last year -- against the same three teams the Cardinal faced to begin 1995 -- Bookman had 305 yards.

Through 11 games last season, he caught 20 passes, averaging 11.8 yards a catch. This year's he's caught two, averaging 4.0. Last year, he averaged 4.8 yards a carry; this year he's averaging 3.1 a carry. And perhaps most significantly, Bookman, a big-play threat, broke off a 70-yard run and touchdown runs of 23, 20, 14, and 12 yards as a freshman, then collected 14 runs of 15 yards or more last season. This season Bookman has yet to have a run of 15 yards or more and has not scored.

No one is claiming Bookman is any less of a player, and Bookman is not defensive or evasive or even angry about his performances. Maybe a little frustrated, but he is not placing the blame on Stanford's inexperienced offensive line, which has been coach Tyrone Willingham's chief concern since preseason, even before offensive tackle Geoff Wilson was lost, probably for the season, with a knee injury. After all, Mitchell's per-carry average is down, too, from 4.6 to 3.6. And Bookman is the kind of runner who needs that initial gap in the defense to get going, to break through and allow his 4.3 speed to produce a big gain. "That tiny crease," Bookman calls it. But Bookman only speaks in terms of "the offensive unit" and its problems.

Bookman claims he is 100 percent healthy, completely unaffected by the shoulder injury that sidelined him during the San Jose State game.

He calls his early season woes "a blessing."

"When I came in (as a freshman), things kind of happened for me," said Bookman, 5-foot-7 and 185 pounds. "Individually, I haven't experienced tough times, so I'm looking at this as kind of a blessing. 'How is Anthony Bookman going to react in times of storm?' There aren't always going to be good times in life.

"People start doubting you -- that's just an aspect of sports. I just have to keep believing in Anthony Bookman. I have a strong belief in Jesus Christ. Sometimes he puts barriers in front of you for a reason. I'm still faithful. Sometimes, I'm up in my room and I giggle and say I've never been in this situation before."

Bookman was starting to second-guess his moves a little, whether he should have bounced to the outside on a given play, but is trying not to do that. In fact, Willingham called Bookman and Mitchell into his office last week, according to Bookman, telling them to remain patient, to keep running where the play is called, that things will fall into place.

Things have not fallen into place for Bookman this season. Utah got so far ahead that Bookman and Stanford's running game became a nonfactor early. He had a big game going against San Jose State, but got hurt and had to leave. Then came the Wisconsin game, in which Bookman had 22 yards on 13 carries, a game Bookman calls the most disappointing of his college career.

Going up against a Washington defense that is ranked second in the Pac-10 against the run and commits nearly all its defenders to the line of scrimmage does not seem like the way to cure Bookman's slow start. But, as Bookman notes, if he gets that tiny crease and breaks through the first line of defenders "there's a lot of green" behind it.